---
title: "Where do Bones go? Food waste collection"
description: "Food waste collection if you have one. Never a home compost heap. Why that route, what goes wrong on the wrong one, and how to prepare it."
url: https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/bones/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Where do Bones go?

**Where do Bones go?: Food waste collection if you have one. Never a home compost heap.**

Food waste collection

Bones break down eventually in a garden heap but take years, and in the meantime they draw rats, foxes and flies, so home composting guidance excludes them along with meat. Municipal food waste treatment has no such problem: anaerobic digesters and in-vessel composting operate at temperatures that deal with meat and bone safely, which is why the caddy accepts what the heap does not. Where there is no food waste collection, bones go in general waste. Stock-making first is worth doing, and the softened bones afterwards go the same way. Whether bones have a route at all depends on whether your council collects food waste, so check locally.

## How to prepare it

1. Make stock first if you are inclined; the disposal route is unchanged afterwards.
2. Wrap them if they are going into general waste, to keep the bin clean.

## What not to do

- Never put bones or meat in a home compost heap or a wormery — it attracts vermin and does not get hot enough.
- Never give cooked bones to a dog; they splinter.

> Kerbside collection rules genuinely vary by council and county, and local rules always win over general guidance. The reasoning above is what transfers — if your service differs, it will usually be for a reason described here.

## Other things that go to food waste collection

- [Food scraps and leftovers](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/food-waste/) — Food waste collection where you have one — it accepts cooked food, meat and dairy, unlike a home compost heap.
- [Teabags](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/teabags/) — Food waste or compost — but many bags are sealed with polypropylene, and that plastic mesh stays behind.
- [Cooking fat, lard and dripping](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/cooking-fat/) — Let it solidify, scrape it into the food waste or general bin. Never down the drain, at any temperature.
- [Coffee grounds](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/coffee-grounds/) — Compost heap or food waste. Good material in both, in moderation.
- [Eggshells](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/eggshells/) — Compost or food waste. Crush them first or they will still be recognisable next year.

## Common questions

### Where do Bones go?

Food waste collection if you have one. Never a home compost heap.

### What happens if you put Bones in the wrong bin?

Never put bones or meat in a home compost heap or a wormery — it attracts vermin and does not get hot enough. Never give cooked bones to a dog; they splinter.

## Related pages

- [Where do Food scraps and leftovers go?](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/food-waste/)
- [Where do Teabags go?](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/teabags/)
- [Where do Cooking fat, lard and dripping go?](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/cooking-fat/)
- [Where do Coffee grounds go?](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/coffee-grounds/)
- [Where do Eggshells go?](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/eggshells/)
- [Where do Household batteries (AA, AAA, C, D, 9V) go?](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/batteries/)
- [Where do Lithium-ion batteries go?](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/lithium-batteries/)
- [Where do Vapes and disposable e-cigarettes go?](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/vapes/)
- [Where do Medicines and tablets go?](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/medicines/)
- [Where do Pizza boxes go?](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/pizza-boxes/)
- [Where do Leftover wet paint go?](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/paint-wet/)

## Sources

- US Environmental Protection Agency — EPA (https://www.epa.gov/) [Public domain (US Government)]